Nathan chases his dreams

The 24-year-old has been diagnosed with stage three cancer and, over the years, he has suffered from a number of illnesses which have hampered his life.

He has now written a wish list which he hopes will be fulfilled before he dies.

His wishes include visiting a race track in Kyalami or Swartkops, swimming with dolphins, drag racing, meeting The Rock, Vin Diesel, Victor Matfield and Morné Steyn, lunching with Kurt Darren, meeting Juanita du Plessis, visiting the Planetarium, meeting the 94.7 Breakfast Xpress team and having a flying experience.

His first wish was fulfilled on Tuesday, July 28, when he met the 94.7 Breakfast Xpress team.

Nathan’s sister, Sabrina Miles, wrote to Darren Simpson, the 94.7 breakfast host and shared her brother’s wish and story.

Sabrina said Nathan loves the station and listens to it all the time, and this surprise made him happy.

“He was very happy and he loved it,” she said.

“Darren put his prank session on hold, just to surprise him.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Nathan and his family, had lunch with Kurt Darren, which was arranged by the Breakfast Xpress team.

After his appearance on Darren Simpson’s show, a number of people offered to make Nathan’s other wishes a reality.

On Wednesday, July 29, he was invited to ride in a BMW on the Red Star Race Track.

His mother, Mercia Miles, said he was happy and truly enjoyed the experience.

“It was so amazing seeing a smile on his face,” she added.

On Friday, July 30, Nathan visited the Planetarium with the 94.7 Breakfast Xpress team and, on Saturday, August 1, he enjoyed a flying experience from Lanseria Airport to Hartbeespoort Dam and back.

Then, on Monday, August 3, he had lunch with Juanita du Plessis.

Nathan will fly to Durban on Friday, August 7, to fulfil his wish of swimming with Dolphins at uShaka Marine World, on Saturday.

According to his mother, even though Nathan’s dreams are being fulfilled, nothing can prepare her for losing her son.

“Nothing can prepare me, I am just trying to do things for him that will take the pain away,” she said.

Nathan’s illnesses started when he was just seven months old, when he started with Hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

When he was seven years old, he and his father travelled to England for an intense course of therapy, which helped him to start walking.

“The doctor originally told us that he would never walk or talk, but he is walking and even runs 5km fun runs; he also did tumbling,” said Sabrina.

In 2009, Nathan was diagnosed with epilepsy and now experiences 30 to 40 brain fits a day.

In April, he started experiencing neck and chest pains and has been to a number of doctors, which led to him being diagnosed with stage three cancer in June.

Sabrina said it has been scary seeing her brother’s condition deteriorate.

“He went from being able to do most things on his own to becoming completely reliant on someone in a space of two weeks,” she explained.

“Nathan is now confined to a wheelchair, to make it easier for him to be more mobile.”

The family has chosen not to have him undergo chemotherapy, as it would cause him to experience a lot of pain and it would not cure the cancer.

“It is sad to see him in this condition, but I would rather have it happen quickly than have him suffering from the pain of chemo,” said Sabrina.

“We don’t want to make his last few months unbearable.”